Bolen: Bizav Access to Airspace, Airports Under Threat

An FAA reauthorization bill that is expected to be introduced next week would not only privatize the U.S. air traffic control system and introduce aviation user fees but it will also likely choke general and business aviation’s access to airspace and airports near busy airline hubs, said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. Speaking today at the association’s regional forum at Atlantic Aviation in Palm Beach, Fla., he said, “The bill would make ATC a nonprofit private corporation with a board dominated by the airlines,allowing them to control access to airspace and airports.”

“Worldwide, when ATC has been spun out, investments and priorities change,” Bolen noted. “In London, there has been more of a focus on long-haul airline flights, to the detriment of short-haul flights and general aviation.In Australia, there has been a shift to prioritize airline traffic. And in Canada, user fees were raised at the wrong time in 2008,” as aircraft traffic fell alongside the economy.

If ATC is privatized and the airlines inevitably control its board, “Business aircraft could be forced to wait longer on the ramp,” Bolen said, acknowledging that access at Teterboro Airport, wedged into New York City’s busy airspace, could be particularly vulnerable.

Bolen urged forum attendees to use NBAA’s Contact Congress page to “let their voice be heard” by their representatives. He further challenged attendees and their colleagues to send 2,000 comments opposing ATC privatization through this page before the forum closes tonight.